Academic Administrative Units AA/PPS No. 01.02.01 (2.11)
Issue No. 1
Effective Date: 01/09/2015
Next Review Date: 03/01/2020 (E5Y)
Senior Reviewer: Director,Curriculum Services
01.GENERAL INFORMATION
01.01The Division of Academic Affairs at Texas State University (Texas State) is organized administratively into colleges, schools, departments and programs. This PPS defines the scope of each academic administrative unit and provides guidance for the preparation of proposals for new units and for changing or deleting existing units.
01.02When considering the addition, change or deletion of a college, school, department or administrative program, the college dean should first consult the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs (Provost) for informal discussion and to ensure consideration of the proposed addition, change or deletion in appropriate strategic plans. Also, chairs, directors and deans should consult with faculty in the program and in other related programs.
02.EXPECTATIONS
02.01As a major academic unit of the University, each college is expected to establish a significant agenda for teaching, scholarship, and service, supportive of the University’s and the Division’s Strategic Plan. The senior executive leader of the college holds the title of Dean. Each college is organized into various schools, departments and programs.
02.02Each college is expected to perform several specific functions that include but are not limited to the following:
a.Significant leadership in promoting rigorous tenure and promotion standards within the college, including development and implementation of a faculty evaluation process that documents teaching excellence, scholarly activity, and professional service within the college and that uses the results of these evaluations for the effective professional development of college's faculty;
b.Significant leadership of the college's use of advanced instructional technology to maximize student learning outcomes;
c.Significant leadership of the college's assessment of ongoing activities and of new initiatives;
d.Significant leadership in pursuit of all of the university's goals and initiatives on the university’s strategic plan;
e.Significant leadership in pursuit of the university's service to all students seeking to complete degrees at Texas State;
f.Significant leadership of University grant and contract activities within the college, including pursuit of grant and contract goals developed in cooperation with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs;
g.Active participation in monitoring degree programs and for certifying degree candidates.
02.03For designation as a school several of the characteristics listed below are normally present. The senior executive leader of a school holds the title of Director.
a.Size of the academic unit. Generally, the current and anticipated future size of a school should be appropriate to the discipline.
b.Complexity of the academic unit. Generally, the number and complexity of programs offered within a school should warrant special recognition.
c.External reputation of the academic unit. Generally, the external evidence should clearly establish that a school has a distinguished reputation for its quality.
d.Significant potential contributions of the academic unit to the goals identified in the University's Strategic Plan. Generally, a school should be able to establish that the outcomes it has identified in its strategic plan are closely related to those of the university as a whole.
e.Significant strategic plan outcomes contingent upon designation as a school. Generally, a school should be able to establish that the outcomes it has identified in its strategic plan are closely related to or contingent upon designation as a school.
f.Tradition within the academic discipline of comparable academic units organized as schools. Generally, a school should be able to demonstrate that designation as a school is frequent among academic units of similar size and scope within the discipline.
g.Grant and contract activities. Generally, a school should demonstrate significant expansion of grant and contract activities including pursuit of grant and contract goals developed in cooperation with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.
h.Tenure and promotion standards. Generally, a school should demonstrate development and implementation of standards for tenure and promotion, including development and implementation of a faculty evaluation process that documents teaching excellence, scholarly activity, and professional service within the school and that uses the results of these evaluations for the effective professional development of school faculty.
02.04In most cases, designation as a school does not imply that the academic administrative unit is on its way to becoming a free-standing college. However, in some cases, the change in designation may imply that the academic unit is beginning a transition to being a free-standing college. Any proposal for a change from a department to a school should clearly indicate whether this change is perceived at this time to be one step in the process of becoming a free-standing college or not.
02.05Each academic department is responsible for many activities, including those in the areas listed below. The senior executive leader of a department holds the title of Chair.
a.Recruiting and retaining a diverse and distinguished faculty, including tenure and promotion, as well as developing and implementing a faculty evaluation process that documents teaching excellence, scholarly activity, and professional service, using the results of these evaluations for effective professional development of faculty,
b.Conducting successful scholarly research, including research supported by external grants and contracts in pursuit of goals developed in cooperation with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs,
c.Conducting successful activities in support of the university's goal of creating a more diverse campus community.
02.06In some cases, degree programs are determined to be academic units without departmental status as defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) guidelines for critical mass of faculty and students. The senior executive leader of administrative programs holds the title of Program Chair. Administrative programs are responsible for the same activities as departments.
02.07Under guidelines of the THECB, proposals to create a new academic administrative unit or to modify an existing unit are categorized as “administrative changes”. Administrative change proposals are prepared according to the THECB format in theAdministrative Change Request Form.
03.PROPOSAL ROUTING
03.01Administrative change proposals may be submitted for review and recommendation by any of the following: faculty; chair or director; dean; or other segments of the university.
03.02The approval process normally takes one year, including approximately six months for on-campus approvals and six months for off-campus approvals.
03.03After consultation with the faculty, the Program Chair/Department Chair/School Director will submit administrative change proposals to their college dean for review by the College Council.
03.04The originating dean will submit proposals to the Director of Curriculum Services (Director). The Director will review the proposal for compliance with applicable rules and regulations and then forward to the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Provost for preliminary review. If the Provost denies a proposal, the originating College Dean and the Provost will discuss the request and decide the next steps.
03.05With Provost’s approval, the Director will submit proposals for final review by the University Curriculum Committee, Faculty Senate, and the Council of Academic Deans.
03.06Upon approval of the President, the Director will prepare an executive summary of the proposal for submission to The Texas State University System Board of Regents.
03.07Upon approval of the Board of Regents, the Director will submit the proposal to the THECB via the online proposal system.
03.08Throughout the process, the Director will work with appropriate college deans to verify format and content of the proposal along with any necessary changes, and to maintain database updates that will be associated with the request for an administrative change, such as to assign new administrative unit codes, changes of course prefixes, and related matters.
03.09In the event that a proposal receives a negative vote or is denied at any level, the proposal will be returned to the faculty and Program Chair/Department Chair/School Director for review and possible revision.
04.REVIEWERS OF THIS PPS
04.01Reviewers of this PPS include the following:
PositionDate
Director, Curriculum ServicesMarch 1 E5Y
05.CERTIFICATION STATEMENT
This PPS has been approved by the following individuals in their official capacitiesand represents Texas State Academic Affairs policy and procedure from the date of this document until superseded.
Director, Curriculum Services; senior reviewer of this PPS
Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs
Provost